


The Sick Rose

by KanraTheTeddyB3ar



Series: The Undone & The Divine [1]
Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Claudia is the biblical version of a nephilim, Fight scenes are not my forte, Gen, Kyrie and Nico are mentioned, so if the existence of angels in classic DMC isn't your cup of tea, so they likely suck, swim along
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 08:35:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28685697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KanraTheTeddyB3ar/pseuds/KanraTheTeddyB3ar
Summary: ...And his dark secret lovedoes thy life destroy-William Blake,Songs of ExperienceTwo years have passed since the Qliphoth incident. With the help of an odd woman named Claudia, Nero has been able to open a localized portal to hell.Of course, as is his lot, getting the wacky woohoo pizza man/his uncle and The Asshole That Stole His Fucking Arm/his father isn’t the only thing he gets for his trouble.
Series: The Undone & The Divine [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2102574
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	The Sick Rose

**Author's Note:**

> Read the tags. Read them again. Read them a third time to ensure it sticks.
> 
> Claudia, my OC/version of Nero's mom, is a traditional/biblical nephilim. She is half human, half angel. I know that angels aren't meant to exist in classic DMC lore. But I say that I reject that reality, and substitute my own.
> 
> I am aware I'm gonna get kicked out of the DMC fandom before I've even got my feet wet. I've accepted that fate. But I'mma chug along anyway cause I can.
> 
> That said, enjoy!

The “ritual” was done, and a small portal to hell was opened. Now all that was left to do was sit and wait.

“Hey, old man!” Nero yelled into the void, pushing back how stupid he felt. “Got some questions for ya!”

A chuckle from his right reminded him that he wasn’t alone, and he turned to stare at Claudia, the odd woman that had hired him. She was around his father and uncle’s age, with dark hair and deep green eyes. Her skin, which had at one point been nearly the same tone as Nico’s, had begun lightening as autumn settled in. She’d revealed markedly little about herself - like V, now that he thought about it - only that she had some kind of bone to pick with Vergil.

He knew also that she was from Fortuna, that her father lived a couple blocks down from his and Kyrie’s apartment. Not to mention the odd things she’d said while helping him hunt down everything necessary to open this portal.

It was times like this that he missed the Devil Breaker. It had been his only way of knowing whether someone was demonic or not. Now, he could only guess.

Five minutes turned into fifteen, then thirty, then an hour. Looking between the portal and Claudia, Nero could _feel_ as well as see the irritation written on the mystery woman’s brow. Letting out a sigh, he made to close the portal.

“What are you doing?” He heard Claudia ask, the most she’d spoken since the process had begun. “You can’t close the portal, not yet!”

“Why not? It’s clear they don’t have any interest in returning just yet,” Nero rolled his eyes, even as booted feet stomped toward him. He shook off the hand on his shoulder, spinning around to glare. “What’s your problem?!”

“I haven’t gotten my fucking answers is my problem!” Claudia yelled, reaching out to shove him back, away from the materials used. “This portal doesn’t close until I get what I’m after! You can fuck off if you think for even a _millisecond_ that I’ll let you near. You’ve already been paid, so just consider your job done and fly along.”

“Like hell I will! What’s your deal, lady?” Nero scowled, tamping down the urge to reach for Blue Rose. _Words first, fists later_ and all that noise. “You think you’re the only one that wants answers? I’ve waited two years for them to get back! If Vergil and Dante aren’t coming, they aren’t coming.”

If the gun in his face wasn’t a sign that the time for words was gone, he didn’t know what was. Whipping out his own gun, Nero narrowed his eyes, taking in his surroundings. The room they were in was spacious enough - had to be, to open the portal - with six pillars in total. As they circled, he couldn’t help but note the almost pained look in Claudia’s eyes, a look he didn’t think should be there at all.

“I don’t want to fight you, Nero,” She said, and he could almost say there was a hint of regret. “But if you’re going to stand between me and what I’m owed, I won’t hesitate.”

The ring of a gunshot, one he barely managed to avoid. The heat from the bullet grazing his temple seared into the left side of his face. Clenching his teeth, Nero popped off a few of his own, with all but a few being nimbly avoided.

Thus, the battle commenced. Bullets flew from either side, landing in brick and flesh, neither daring to get within melee distance just yet. Claudia was quick, gliding from one spot to another, rarely staying to fire off more than a few rounds. If one asked, Nero would say she was downright graceful, more so than could ever be humanly possible.

A flash of light to the right is all the warning he gets. Narrowly avoiding the sudden blade, Nero pulls out Red Queen, giving it a quick rev. In Claudia’s hands is a three sectioned staff, though where it came from is a mystery. He’d never seen her wield it before, and watches with an almost fascination as she removes a dagger from either side, the mid section vanishing into the air. _A summonable weapon…?_

The pair move at the same time, blades slashing off each other. One could almost assume that he had the edge, as it seemed that Claudia sloppily left herself open. It would quickly be discovered these openings were, for the most part, purposeful. A slash up Nero’s sweater was a reminder of that. Kyrie wouldn’t be pleased.

His blade embedding itself into Claudia’s side wrenched a horrendous scream, and something nagged at the back of his mind. Tamping down the sensation, he removed the blade, taking two careful steps back.

“You still wanna do this?” He questioned. Internally, he warred with what he wanted her answer to be. He didn’t want to fight her, deriving no pleasure from watching the blood well up and stain Claudia’s jacket. Yet, he couldn’t deny the curiosity to see what else she could do. Wondering again as to her background, Nero ran through a list of possible reasons that she had the abilities she did. He didn’t have much time to speculate further as she rushed him again, daggers dancing haphazardly.

Her fury made her slip, allowing Nero more openings for his attacks. The sting of one of her daggers sinking into his arm and a fist connecting with his jaw sent him sprawling into a pillar. With the other dagger held high, Claudia advanced. _When did her eyes start glowing?_

The dagger descended…

Popping into existence, Nero stared, almost agape, at his father’s back. The sheath of the Yamato blocked Claudia’s other dagger, and he noted that if looks could kill, Vergil would likely be dead many times over. Yanking the dagger out of his arm, Nero stood, turning his head to see Dante walking out of the portal. Almost casually, he walked over to the assorted items used to open the portal, swiped a hand along them, causing them to scatter and the portal to collapse.

“Guess even you have soft spots,” he remarked, lazily making his way over.

“Who are you?” Vergil asks, and Claudia scowls, apparently incensed at being asked the very question. Did Claudia ever say if Vergil actually knew her? He couldn't say. Guess that's what he gets for assuming. Still, as she jumped away, Nero wondered just what his father could have done for Claudia to have acted like it was such a personal slight…

~~~

_"Devil May Cry," he'd said into the phone of Nico's van. It was a considerably normal day, he and Nico in the garage, Kyrie having taken the kids out for an afternoon at the nearby park. The déjà vu of it all caused his senses to be on high alert. Call it paranoia, call it caution, call it whatever you wish. All he knew was that the last time things were this peaceful, he got his arm ripped off._

_So, if his eyes looked a little too much out the garage door, no they didn’t._

_“I’m looking for someone, and I’ve been told that you’re the people to go to,” A feminine voice sounded from the other end. “And before you ask, no, I didn’t call a wrong number.”_

_“We’re not exactly a P.I.,” He scoffed, rolling his eyes. “You’re better off calling someone in that line of work if you’re looking for a missing person.”_

_“Does the name “Vergil” ring a bell?”_

_Nero froze, near dropping the phone._

_A chuckle resounded at his silence. “I thought that might work. You see, Vergil made a promise to me many years ago. A promise he broke. I intend to find out why. Cash up front, if you’re willing to take my offer.”_

~~

“You better answer the question,” Dante said, breaking the silence. “My brother doesn’t ask questions twice.”

“You forgot?” Claudia glared, an incredulous laugh bubbling out briefly. “ _You genuinely forgot?!_ ”

What proceeded to happen was what Nero could only assume was some sort of melt down. The first laugh flowed into more, interrupted with broken sobs. He almost wanted to envelope her in a hug, even though she’d just stabbed him in the arm and was seconds from doing who-knows-what. If there was one thing he’d figured out about the Sparda family, it’s that its dysfunctionality was its normality. Go figure, right?

It’s when her sobbing laughter stopped that he felt his stomach drop. Then, a flash of lightning, breaking through the roof of the chamber to strike where Claudia stands. He threw an arm up to keep the flying debris out of his face, squinting through the smoke. When it cleared, where once stood Claudia stood… Something else. He couldn’t even say that she’d turned into a demon, as he didn’t imagine that demons wore armor, since their hides acted as armor itself.

In truth, it was kinda like how Kyrie had described his Devil Trigger form? Except pink. The armor was varying shades of a deep pink, with flames popping out of various spots. The most startling was the eyes. No iris, no pupil, just a piercing blue sclera stared out. The scowl, however, was familiar.

“Allow me to remind you!” She screeched, using her wings to lift herself off the ground as she hurled beams of light. 

The fight between Claudia and Vergil seemed more raw, in some aspects. The beams hurled stuck and singed wherever they landed, a wonder that none of the deflected ones stuck to the Yamato itself. Nero could only be the passive observer as Claudia buried her dagger in his father’s shoulder while the Yamato buried itself in her abdomen. His eyes landed on her wings, the color of red wine, flapping about, the gust sending dust on the floor flying.

She was screeching something, but he couldn’t understand the words. In a blink, she flew in front of him, yanking her other dagger out of his hand and tossing it immediately at Vergil, who was charging after her. He reached out to restrain her, but his hand burnt upon making contact with her arm. She twisted her head around to hiss at him, only to be thrown across the room, slamming into a pillar. 

Dante clapped his hands briefly before raising a brow and asking, “You gonna wrap this up, or…?”

Claudia’s other form faded away, and she coughed, droplets of blood landing on the floor. With a grunt of pain, she stood, wrapping an arm around herself as the daggers faded. Nero frowned as she slowly advanced on Vergil. With no weapons drawn, she stopped just in front of him, slamming her fists into his chest.

“Hey, hey, Claudia-” Nero started over, stopping only when the words she was wailing registered in his mind.

“You _promised_ me!” Another fist slamming, though Vergil made no move to stop her. “You _promised_ me, Vergil! You promised we’d be a family! You promised to come back to me! I was pregnant with **your child** , for Sparda’s fucking sake!”

Spinning to look at Dante, Nero didn’t need a mirror to know his eyes were wide as saucers. As far as anyone knew, the only kid that his father had… was him. So, unless he had a secret sibling somewhere out there in the world…

The possibility seemed too good to be true.

And yet, as Claudia collapsed to the floor, he found his feet propelling him over to kneel beside her, pulling her into his arms. This all seemed a dream, and at any moment he expected to be woken up. _This couldn’t be happening. He had to be dreaming this._

“...Mother?” The word is foreign on his tongue, as he’d long forbidden it from entering his vocabulary. Now, as he let it in, as his _mother_ looked up at him, sorrow, pain, regret, and affection knotted together in her eyes, he couldn’t deny the elation. 

Now, how to explain all this to Kyrie?


End file.
